Je T'aime
by A'isha Ishtar
Summary: Sometimes, you know, all it takes to start a relationship is something extremely humiliating. And a cute guy who doesn't care how humiliating it was. Chad/OC Title means "I Love You" in French. Please be kind!
1. A Red Blur Embarrasses Me in Gym

Gym has _never_ been my favorite subject in school, and it sure wasn't at Karakura High, either. It wasn't that I was fat, or lazy, or had some serious medical condition. I just wasn't good at it. I was clumsy, slow, and just altogether uncoordinated. The only thing I didn't completely tank at was gymnastics, but karma found a way to mess that up, too.

Your body has a cruel way of betraying you at critical times. Maybe the goddess of women out there takes enjoyment in screwing with your social and love lives. For example, every week in my first-period gym class, some girl was always on her cycle.

This week, that girl was me.

Suckish, right? Well, it gets _so_ much worse, people. I didn't even know I had my period, so I went out to the uneven bars not getting the fact that my social life (or, what I _had_ of one) was about to go down the proverbial drain. There were also two things that made this even worse, too. One, I was wearing _white_ shorts. As all girls reading this can attest, you do _not_ wear white on your bottom half until you are 100% _sure_ your period is over. And two, my crush was in the boys' class of the same period, so the two classes shared the gym. It was almost as if fate set it up to happen, and swung an invisible yet powerful wrecking ball at my life.

My crush was an interesting guy named Yasutora Sado, better known simply as Chad. He was a freakishly tall guy - looked like he belonged on the basketball team, and then some. He was quite obviously athletic (yes, I admit to sneaking peeks at his biceps during class, especially on "fitness" days when they _rippled_), which made me confident that he'd never notice me, what with my total trip-over-a-blade-of-grass finesse. So, I was safe and content with admiring him and trying - often failing - at getting enough courage to talk to him. However, aside from his height and impressive musculature (yep, cool word, I know), nobody knew much about him - except, supposedly, Ichigo Kurosaki (whom I referred to only slightly jokingly as Flame Head), Rukia Kuchiki (the old new girl), Uryu Ishida (they built it, and nerds came, ha-ha), Orihime Inoue (who I just called "that redhead with the big boobs" whenever I needed to talk about her), and Keigo Asano (along with his other friend whose name I never could remember). Yep, Chad Yasutora was a big old mystery, and he just _begged_ for me to solve him.

I always loved a good detective... story.

Anyway, let's get back to the current unfolding plot, shall we? We did our warm-ups and everything, with me practically drooling over Chad as he did his "Karakura Coyotes" jumping jacks. Me, on the other hand… I was _limp_, dude. By the time we got to the U in Karakura, I was beat. But that was also because we'd done toe-touches, quads, the "butterfly" stretch, sit-ups, and push-ups, too. I could not touch my toes. I grasped each ankle for a total of three seconds before my hands slipped and I virtually collapsed on the floor. My heels weren't even relatively close to my crotch when I did the butterfly. I only came up about a quarter of the way with each sit-up, and I did the girl type of push-ups. As in, I got down on my knees, and did ten good shoves, nearly introducing my face to floor each time, thanks to my klutziness.

The guys' teacher, who we all referred to as Coach Cuckoo, told them they got to watch us girls on the parallel bars today. At which, several guys whistled or catcalled, and Chad just stood there looking at the floor of the gym. Probably wondering if it ever got cleaned… did it, anyway? It was all marked up and everything...

It was somebody else's turn first. I sat down on the bottom bleachers, leaning backward and stretching to crack my back. It wasn't until I heard a deep-voiced "Hey" that I realized Chad had sat next to me.

I glanced over, avoiding looking directly into his eyes. If I did, I would _not_ be able to form a coherent sentence. "Oh, um… hiya." I prayed I wasn't blushing too hard.

"Suzume, right?" Oh, God, his voice was so sexy. The only time I'd ever heard him talk before was in French, when we went over assignments, and he was always so quiet then - I could barely hear him, no thanks to the fact that we were on opposite sides of the room.

"Um… that's my _last_ name."

"Oh. So, then… what's your first?"

"Izumi. My name's Izumi Suzume. It's a real tongue-twister, I know, right?"

"I like it. I'm Yasutora Sado, but everyone calls me Chad."

"Yeah, I know. Chad. That's, like, my favorite guy name ever."

"Cool. So, Izumi… if I comment on something, would you take it as an insult?"

"Well, I probably won't, unless you're nasty about it. I live by a code - mean what you say, say what you mean, and don't say it mean."

"I was just going to tell you… it's not that your hair looks bad loose - it actually looks nice - but since you're going to be doing gymnastics, you'll probably want to tie your hair up, if you have a scrunchie. You know, so you don't mess it up."

"Oh! I didn't even notice. Thanks, Chad." I put my whitish hair (damn pin-straight, bleached-blonde genes) up in a high ponytail with my pretty red rubber band. I stood up. "I think it's my turn next."

Chad grasped my wrist. "Hey, Izumi?"

I looked back. "Y-Yeah, Chad?"

"Good luck. Coach said this counts for a fifth of the girls' final grade… that's 20%. It could bring you from an A to a B just like that, if you fail."

"Yup. I'm pretty good at this - though I fail at all other gym and I'll probably bomb the mile run, the shuttle run, sit and reach, hang, and sit-ups. I'm hoping for at least a C in this thing - it's the only one I don't epically suck at!"

"Well… good luck, Izumi."

"Thanks! By the way, I think you're the only one who doesn't call him Coach Cuckoo. Even _I_ do, dude."

He chuckled, and gently pulled me off the bleachers. "You're up. Good luck."

"Okay, thanks! See you soon." I hurried up to our teacher, an American woman who had told us to call her Coach Michelle. Unfortunately, some of our class couldn't pronounce that, so most of us just called her Coach Mitchie or just Coach. "What am I doing, Coach Mitchie?"

"Whatever you can do on the parallel bars. I want to see if you're able to do the stuff we've been doing in class. Anytime you're ready, just start, Izumi."

"Okay."

I climbed up on the bars and began doing some simple moves. Skin the cat, inverted hang, saddle side with pose. I flipped backward and held myself, the back of me facing everyone else. I was so focused and concentrating that I didn't even notice the slight wetness on my rear end. Everyone else, however, noticed the color.

One of the boys laughed, and called out, "Hey, look, guys, she's got her period!" All the other boys, and most of the girls, started laughing, too.

Losing my concentration, I fell, landing on my chest. I glanced up. It didn't look like Chad was laughing, but he could be laughing on the inside. I felt tears stinging my eyes, and ran into the girls' locker room crying.

I had _zero_ chance with Chad after that little display.

**... My first attempt at Bleach and Chad. PLEASE DON'T SHOOOOOOT. *is shot anyway***

**Leave nice reviews please? Like Izumi said: mean what you say, say what you mean, AND DON'T SAY IT MEAN. ^^**

**Thanks for reading and possibly reviewing! XD**


	2. I Get Sweet Talked to in French

I was the first one out of the gym when the bell rang, and the third one to my English class. The other ones in the room were Orihime Inoue and Rukia Kuchiki, who were talking. I sat down in my seat and put my head down, my shoulders still shaking.

I felt somebody's hand on my shoulder and looked up. It was Orihime's hand, but both she and Rukia were standing over me.

"Aw, look," Orihime said, pity in her eyes. "Her eyes are all red, Rukia! She must have been crying!"

"What's the matter, Izumi?" Rukia asked, kneeling down next to my desk.

I rubbed at my eyes. "How do you guys even know my name?"

"We care," Orihime protested.

"It doesn't even matter." I put my head back down. "My life is ruined."

"It's a boy," Orihime stated.

"How do you know?"

"Believe me, I _know_, Izumi. Now, who is it?"

I looked up a little, sighing. "It's… your guys' friend."

"Ichigo?" Rukia guessed.

"No."

"Uryu?" Orihime added.

"Nope."

"Keigo?"

"Uh-uh."

"Mizuiro?"

"Oh, so that's the guy's name. And no way."

"Well, then, _who_?" Orihime and Rukia practically shouted at the same time.

I pursed my lips, then exhaled. "Yasutora Sado."

"Oooh!" Orihime looked excited. "Chad! It's Chad! You hear that, Rukia? She likes Chad!"

"But it doesn't matter," I pointed out. "He'd never be interested in me."

"Of course he would!" Orihime argued. "You're, like, completely his type! Sweet, brainy, a little clumsy —"

"Not to mention you're sensitive," Rukia interjected. "You don't care what other people think of him."

"No. I just had first period gym with him, and… I totally embarrassed myself in front of everyone, including him."

"Oh, I'm sure it couldn't have been _that_ bad," Orihime assured me.

I gave her a look. "I didn't know I have my period, I had white shorts, no pad, and my butt, though fully clothed, faced everyone for about ten full seconds during gymnastics. One of the boys yelled, 'Hey, she's got her period!' and everyone started laughing."

"Ooh." Orihime bit her lip. "Ohhh, well, Chad didn't laugh! I'm sure he didn't! ... He didn't, did he?"

I put my head back down. "You know what? He was probably laughing on the inside."

"Chad wouldn't do that," Rukia told me. "Trust me, we know."

"Why don't you just give him a chance?" Orihime commented. "Don't you guys have another class together, or lunch - or _something_?"

"Fourth period, we have French together," I answered. "And we have the same lunch period. But…"

"Talk to him in French!" Orihime practically shouted, as if that were the perfect, logical answer.

"I can't. I cannot form a coherent sentence in that language. I'm getting a D... minus."

"At least you're not _failing_! And besides, I _meant_ in class. You don't have to actually 'parler français' to him."

"Parler français…" I blinked. What did that mean? "Oh! Speak French. Right." I sat up and sighed. "Yeah, okay... I guess I can do that. Good plan." I smiled at the girls. "Thanks, Rukia. Thanks, Orihime."

"No problem." Orihime patted my head. "I hope things work out with Chad! You two would be so cute together."

"Yes, I hope things work out too," Rukia said, giving me a little smile. "Good luck, Izumi-chan."

I nodded and then went over to grab a big English book. Good thing we were reading a comedy... I needed a laugh.

* * *

Fourth period French. Oh, man, oh, man... yeah, I could _so_ do this! Nothing would stop me. I could talk to Yasutora Sado without getting all tongue-tied and weak-kneed. I just couldn't think about... his wavy hair or... what I'd seen when we were in gym class, his muscles rippling... or his deep, sexy voice... or... the way his gorgeous eyes focused completely on you when you were talking to him... oh, here came the Jell-O legs.

Staring up at the door, I swallowed. I had to do this. I couldn't turn back now... I needed to talk to Chad. There was no room in the inn for cowardice of any kind. I was past the point of no return.

But then again, I'd always been a class-A coward. Right now I was feeling like a big old chicken, wanting nothing more than to run away from my fears - and Chad. Maybe I could pretend to be sick and stay in the nurse's office - at least until French was over. Yes, people... I, Izumi Suzume, the incorrigible goody-goody, seriously considered faking sick to avoid a _boy_. I would have skipped class and gone to a _sports_ arena if I thought it meant I wouldn't have to face Chad in that classroom.

However, remember that whole coward thing I mentioned, like, last paragraph? Yeah. The bell rang just as I was ready to head to the nurse's. But, being the spineless little jellyfish I was, I just "eep"ed and darted into the room. Yeah - apparently I was more afraid of being late to class than I was of Yasutora Sado.

BIG. FUCKING. MISTAKE.

Madame gave me a nasty look as I sat down - like she wanted to toss my butt in detention but couldn't because I was _technically_ on time. "Now that Miss Suzume has decided to join us, why don't we get started on the lesson?"

She began to talk, but I didn't listen. Instead I was focusing intently on the back of Chad's head. Nope - not just thinkin' about it, not just lookin' at it, I was _analyzin'_ it, for the good Lord's sake. I was totally tuned out to everything but the back of this boy's hair. I sat in the very back, in a corner all by my lonesome, while Chad was in the second seat of the middle row. So I could stare at the back of his head all I wanted - hey, don't judge me! You would too if you got the chance!

Anyway, I was oblivious to everything that wasn't Chad's hair. I wasn't paying the slightest attention to Madame till I noticed that she was screeching my name. "_Izumi Suzume_!"

I jumped and looked up. There was Madame at her desk, looking extremely annoyed with me. Almost afraid to ask, I squeaked out, "I'm sorry, ma'am, what was the question?"

"You need to fais attention!" **(1)** Madame crossed her arms. "We're picking partners and I started in your row. Who would you like to work with?"

Before I even knew what I was saying, I just blurted out, "Chad."

... What the _hell_ did I just do that for?

"Is that alright with you, Monsieur Sado?" Madame questioned.

For some weird reason, I was actually hoping it wouldn't be. I wanted him to say something along the lines of, "No way, she's a stupid bitch. Why would I wanna work with her?" But of course he didn't. He was too nice for that. "Yes, that's fine."

"D'accord, **(2)** get to work."

For a few minutes, while the rest of the partners were being picked out, time seemed to stand still on Planet I-Really-Really-_Really_-Don't-Want-to-Talk-to-Chad. I didn't move, and Chad didn't move either. We both just sat there.

Finally, Chad (being the brave, bold one) stood up and walked back to my desk. He stood over me, and I was just a little freaked out. He towered over me even more than normal when I was sitting and he was standing. He was quiet for a few seconds before speaking. "Why did you pick me, Izumi?"

I got up too, grabbing my "livre de français" **(3)** to work. Even when I stood _at my full height_, I still didn't quite meet his eyes. "Because we need to talk. A-About what happened first period, I mean." I felt the heat rushing to fill my cheeks. "N-Not about anything else! I-I mean, unless you _wanna_ talk about something else... that may actually be good for me..."

He nodded, and walked over to the table and chairs that designated the "café" area. "Vas-tu?" **(4)**

I walked over and sat across from him. "I wasn't listening - what are we supposed to be doing?"

"It's an exercise... we're supposed to pretend we're two people who've just met in a café and have decided to eat lunch together and talk."

"Oh, great." I put a hand on my stomach. "Just what I needed - talk about food to make me even hungrier."

"Isn't your lunch mine - AKA, next period?"

"Boy, that don't stop my stomach from complaining to me. Listen to it - 'feed me, _feeeeeeeeed meeeeeee_.' It's creepy, isn't it?"

"Uh, well... we don't have to start right away. So... did you want to talk?"

"... Maybe, I dunno." I glanced out the window, hoping to avoid his gaze. "It's just... well, I..." I closed my eyes, trying to recall that phrase. "J'ai... J'ai honte." **(5)**

I could feel his golden brown eyes on me. "Why are you embarrassed, Izumi?"

"You saw what happened. Everyone... and I could tell that _you_..." I let my arms fall beside each other on the table. "Don't you get it, Chad? I was humliated. I'm sure that... if your pants fell down in gym, would _you_ be embarrassed?"

"Well, of course I would. I'd be embarrassed that I didn't change into my gym shorts _and_ forgot a belt on top of that. But your pants - um, shorts - didn't fall down. Your... well... I mean, that thing girls go through every month..."

"But it's the same thing for girls, Chad. I didn't even know... and everyone was laughing, not just a few people... everyone. And even if you weren't physically laughing, I could tell you were in your head."

I felt his hand over mine, and it was pleasantly warm. "Izumi... do you think I found _that_ funny?"

"Everyone else did."

"I'm _not_ everyone else." His hand loosely wrapped itself around mine. "You know what, Izumi? There was a couple from our gym class in my second period - a boyfriend and girlfriend. And they were talking about what happened, telling everyone they could..."

"Um, Chad...? How is that supposed to make me feel any better?"

"... I wanted to punch them in the face."

I blinked at that. Chad wasn't a violent person. He never had been - not as long as I'd know him, at least. So why did he want to hurt someone... just because they were making fun of _me_? "... Enchanté," **(6)** was all I could manage to get out as I stared at my paper.

When I looked up, Chad was giving me a rare, small smile. "Enchantée, **(7)** Mademoiselle Suzume."

Madame chose this moment to come sailing over. "How are we doing, Monsieur Sado and Mademoiselle Suzume?"

... _Damn_, and I was just getting somewhere with the boy.

**(1) - Fais attention = Pay attention**

**(2) D'accord = Okay (as in agreement; in the sense of "I'm okay", the word used would be "bien")**

**(3) Livre de français = literally book of French, but taken to mean one's French textbook**

**(4) Vas-tu? = Are you coming?**

**(5) J'ai honte = I'm ashamed (literally "I have shame")**

**(6) Enchanté = Pleasure (kind of like pleasure to meet you, but in Izumi's sense she means that it's almost like this is the first time she's seeing this side of him)**

**(7) Enchantée = Same as above, but version used for speaking to a female**

**Hope you guys like! ^^ Not sure what I've got planned for the next chapter... :D Ideas welcome maybe? XD**


	3. I Almost Fall Off the Roof At Lunch

**OK... haven't updated this for a week or two, so I figured it was time. BUT LOOK. I've made it up with an extra-long chappie. So you still love meh, right? ^^**

**Well... I took 3 years of French so I think it's all correct, but some of this could be wrong. Please tell me if it is!**

I wished that French exercise could have lasted for the whole period. It was funny, really, the way that Chad and I talked like we'd been best friends forever. We had to talk in French though, since Madame picked the most _insane_ times to come and interrupt our conversation to make sure we were actually doing the assignment. I pronounced nearly every word wrong, and sometimes I didn't even know how to say what I wanted to say. But that was okay, because apparently Chad was really getting it - he'd just correct me, or tell me how to say what I wanted to.

I'm not really sure which of us did most of the talking. We probably talked the same amount. I didn't learn a whole lot about him, since the exercise only lasted about fifteen minutes (merci, Madame! ... How do you say "grr" in French?), but I learned some. For example, here's how one of our conversations went:

Chad: "Je joue la guitare, et je suis un membre d'un ensemble musique." ("I play the guitar, and I'm in a band.")

Me: "Um... (yes, it really takes me this long to form a correct French sentence) avez-vous un chanteur ou une chanteuse?" ("Do you have a vocalist/singer?")

Chad: "Hmm... non, je ne pense pas." ("No, I don't think so.")

Me: "Ha-ha... (this is me stalling for time while I look for what to say) c'est dommage. Mais je pense c'est quoi je dèsire pour mon occupation..." ("That's too bad. But I think that's what I want for my job..." And that's when I kinda spaced out, thinking about my singing.)

Chad: "Tu dèsires pour être une chanteuse?" ("You want to be a singer?")

Me: "Oui... mais je ne pense pas ce je suis trop bien." ("Yeah... but I don't think I'm that good.")

Chad: "C'est drole. Tu as l'air d'une bonne chanteuse." ("That's funny. You look like a good singer.")

Yep, I did the play conversation thingy. But yeah, this is one of conversations we had. He plays guitar and is in a band, they don't have a singer, I was subtly hinting at him asking the rest of the band if I could be their singer... I don't think he got it. Were all guys this... bad at recognizing subtlety? Maybe. I'd have to research that later...

But eventually, Madame got us all back together to do the rest of today's lesson. Curse you, cruel fate...!

So Chad and I went back to our seats... and I returned to staring at the back of his head. Fun times. And we did our assignment, with stupid people (okay, okay, it was _just_ me!) asking a bunch of questions. Maybe I'd get lucky and Chad would offer to tutor me or something... because I think he was getting an A and what was I getting? As I'd told Rukia and Orihime, a D. Minus. The last time I checked the parent assisting module, that is; it might've gone down to an F by now.

And at last, the bell rang. Man, why couldn't this have lasted longer? I was content with just looking at Chad forever - well, even if it _was_ just the back of him. I didn't really mind. I'd had a crush on him since, like, seventh grade, do you really think I cared if it was the back or the front of him?

... Wait, forget I just said that entire last sentence while I do a facepalm, please.

So there I was, gathering my sh - err, stuff. Getting all my papers and notebooks straight, putting my pencils in my binder, sliding my French book onto the shelf. When all of a sudden, I noticed somebody standing over me. And when I looked up - okay, you get three guesses. First and second don't count.

Okay, okay, I'll tell you! Geez... no need to glare like that.

It was Chad. Did you really expect anything less? Even _I_ pretty much knew it was Chad. It was like I'd suddenly gotten sucked into one of those teen-angst romance flicks in the last four hours. He was just looking at me. "Izumi?"

I felt like shivering as he said my name. His voice was great and the fact that he was using it to say _my name_ was just completely, utterly... wow. Damn if that wasn't like crack to me... "Yeah?"

"Uh, well... do you know Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryu Ishida and...?" He just kind of trailed off, probably not wanting to say _everybody's_ name. I didn't blame him, he must've have a lotta friends.

"I've seen them around, but I've never been introduced to them. Except this one time in fifth grade when I accidentally spilled some juice on Uryu and we're forgetting I said that right now," I added quickly, feeling my face heating up.

"Forgetting that you said anything." Chad smiled faintly and continued talking. "Well, I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind me introducing you to them. I kind of wanted to invite you to have lunch with us. I mean, if you don't already have lunch with your other friends."

I grinned. "Oh, Chad, you are _hilarious_. I think the only friends I have are Rukia and Orihime. And even then, I barely know them. I mean, I _do_ have one other friend... but unfortunately she doesn't live in Japan so we have to communicate by e-mail."

"That's too bad. I'm sorry. But it's a mystery to me why you don't have more friends here. You're a really nice person."

"Awwwww, thanks. You too!"

"So... lunch?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure. That'd be great. What table do you guys eat at?"

He shook his head - as if _knowing_ he'd regret the words he was about to say but had to say them anyway. "Actually... we have lunch on the roof."

I blinked a few times. "On the roof?"

"Yes."

"Like, the _roof_ roof?"

I could see him rolling his eyes in his mind. "I don't think there's any other roof, but... yeah."

"As in... the very tip top of the building?"

"Well, there's a statue up there that I'm sure is a little farther up than where we sit, but... yes, I suppose it classifies as the top of the school."

"Like... two stories up in the air, supported by nothing by concrete and bricks?"

Even behind his bangs I could tell he was raising an eyebrow at me. "Izumi, is there something wrong? If you don't want to come, you don't have to. I mean, it's your choice..."

"No, no, it's just..." I picked up my books and started toward the door, sure he was following close behind. "I'm terrified of heights. I always think I'm gonna fall. And you've seen me in gym - graceful I'm not. If Izumi Suzume falls from more than ten and a half feet, Izumi Suzume goes splat and is a new stain on the pavement below."

It sounded like Chad wanted to laugh at that last sentence, but didn't know if I was being completely serious or not. "Well then, we'll sit in the very center, so you're as far away from the edges as possible. And don't worry - I won't let you fall. You trust me, right?"

I sighed, but smiled. "I let you talk me into the craziest things. Not being embarrassed by what happened in first period, having lunch on the roof... next you'll be convincing me to get a tattoo!"

"What's wrong with tattoos? I have one."

I blinked. "Oh yeah, that's right. I've seen it."

"Have you?"

"Yeah, in gym class when I..." Quickly cutting myself off, I forced the blush back down. "When I was on your team for basketball that one time, remember? You wore a tank top while we were playing basketball."

"Oh, that's right. I guess you would have seen it then."

"Yup!" Nope. Of course it I had seen it then, but that wasn't the first time I'd seen it. No, the first time I'd seen it was when I had been "studying" during one of our famous gym study halls. Coach Mitchie was absent, so the girls had a substitute and we were allowed to do as we wished. The boys, however, still had to do everything normally. (Ha! Being a boy sucks... hee-hee...) I hadn't actually been studying - I had been, of course, watching Chad. And he had a tank top on - well, that part wasn't a complete lie. And I saw his tattoo. It was a heart with angel wings, and around it were the words "Amor e Mort". As I'm not the smartest person around (understatement, I know), I looked that up and found that it was Italian, meaning "Love and Death". SO DEEP! And... my crush intensified. "And anyway, I didn't say there was anything _wrong_ with having a tattoo. I like yours. But my mom would _freak_ if I came home with a tattoo. How'd you get your parents to agree to it?"

Chad shrugged. "It wasn't really that hard. So... are you coming?"

I grinned. "Like I said, you talk me into the craziest things!" I blinked as I followed him up the stairs to the roof. "Maybe I _will_ get a tattoo... how do you think a butterfly would look on the small of my back?"

"I think if anyone were looking there on you I would have to give them a little talk."

* * *

Apart from waving a little and saying "Hi, I'm Izumi", I didn't really talk to Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Uryu, Keigo, or... huh. Rukia and Orihime told me that other dude's name second period, and I already forgot it. Oh well, if he was important enough I'd remember, so it's his fault for not being important enough.

After Chad introduced me to Ichigo, Uryu, Keigo, and That Other Guy (which I'm just going to call him because I'm never going to be able to remember his name), he sat with me against the statue in the middle of the building. I happily opened my lunch bag and began to eat my dango and onigiri. That's when I noticed Chad didn't have anything, so I bumped his shoulder with mine. "You're not eating?"

"Forgot my money."

I held out a stick of dango and an onigiri out to him. "Here! I'm _not_ gonna let my bestest friend go without lunch. We've still got like two hours to go! You know what'll happen if you don't have anything - you'll end up like me in gym."

"Like a klutz?"

"Like a _super_ klutz, my good man."

"So... friends?" he asked, taking the food from me.

"Of course! I've actually wanted to be your friend for a long time now."

"Really? How long?"

I felt myself blushing, so I looked away. "Well... a couple years, I guess. Two, I think? I mean... do you remember in the eighth grade, when you saved Ichigo from that gang of renegade idiots?"

"Oh, uh..." Was it just me, or did he sound a little embarrassed by the fact that I knew about that? "You saw that?"

I shrugged, chewing on the stick from my dango. "I heard about it."

"You mean you saw that bandage on my face the next day?"

"Well, that... but when I asked somebody about that, they told me what happened. Apparently Ichigo told the entire school - except me, I guess."

"So... that was when you thought you'd like to be friends with me?"

"Yep." Once again, _nope_. My little... well, we'll call it an "unhealthy obsession"... with Chad started a year before that. I guess he'd switched schools or something and started his seventh grade year at our school. I wondered why I was lying to him. Normally I didn't lie. I kinda just thought if he knew I'd been infatuated with him for _three years_ and didn't bother to do anything about it (not to mention that I stared at the back of his head and couldn't keep my eyes off him in gym class), it might've driven him away and then he'd never be my friend... and then I'd have nobody.

"I'm happy we're friends though, Izumi. You're a really nice girl."

"What about my klutziness?"

"That's just... a part of what makes you Izumi Suzume. You wouldn't be you if you weren't a klutz."

"Awwwwww, you say the most awesomest things..."

Out of nowhere, That Other Guy leaned over the side of the building on his knees. "Hey, Keigo! You gotta check this out - I just spit and it hasn't even hit the ground yet! I love how high up this place is!"

Easily amused as I was, I ran over to look. "Oh cool! Lemme see, lemme see!"

Before I knew what was happening, though, I'd lost my balance. I felt my legs curling up under me, and I couldn't move. I was falling... and from so high up... _Oh my God,_ I thought, terrified, _I'm going to die..._

But I didn't fall and go splat. Somebody caught me by the back of my shirt and swept me back onto the roof, placing their other arm under my legs. And when I looked up to see who'd just saved my life - guess who it was? Chad, of course. (I mean, seriously. The clichéd romance demanded it, I suppose.) I just stared up at him, my eyes wide as they met his. The guy I'd had a crush on for three years just prevented me from falling to my death.

He just looked at me and smiled, then said the only thing I was thinking besides the fact that he'd just saved me:

"Izumi, you're so clumsy."


End file.
